MML Investors Services LLC Boosts Stake in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,069 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bensler LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eversource Energy in the second quarter worth $316,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in Eversource Energy by 46.9% during the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 31,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after acquiring an additional 10,093 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Eversource Energy by 23.2% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 134,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,636,000 after acquiring an additional 25,377 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,737,990,000 after acquiring an additional 430,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in Eversource Energy by 94.0% during the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 57,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,908,000 after acquiring an additional 27,817 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ES shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Eversource Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “underperform” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Eversource Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.38.

Eversource Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ES opened at $56.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $62.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.11. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $52.09 and a twelve month high of $69.01.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Eversource Energy had a positive return on equity of 10.90% and a negative net margin of 4.73%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.715 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 18th. Eversource Energy’s payout ratio is presently -182.17%.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business. The company operates through Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution, and Water Distribution segments. It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity; solar power facilities; and distribution of natural gas.